ACTIVITIES...

ENJOY a day of fun for all the family at Troutback Village's annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Races on Tuesday. The day features races for children and adults and also a pancake tossing competition. The fun takes place in the Square, Troutbeck Village, near Windermere, at 2.30pm.

ARTS...

Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle, is holding two workshops in the art of origami entitled Chinese Origami Flowers and Papercuts. The morning session (11am12pm), suitable for children aged five-eight, will teach them to create origami spring flowers, Chinese masks and simple papercuts. The afternoon session (1.30pm3.30pm) is suitable for ages nine to adult and will involve making Chinese characters, papercuts and the figure of a traditional Chinese lady. Pre-booking is essential, call 01228-534664.

THIS weekend is the last chance to see the rare Medieval stone head currently on display at Ribchester's Roman Museum. The ancient carving turned up in a Preston garden after spending years as a garden ornament. It forms part of an exhibition alongside the museum's other Roman artefacts such as weapons, jewellery and clothing.

CONCERTS...

LANCASTER'S Haffner Orchestra will be in concert at Ashton Hall, Lancaster, on Saturday. The concert includes Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave, and Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks. A short Sinfonietta will also be performed to mark the retirement of Roger Cann, who has been musical director for 15 years. The concert begins at 7.30pm. For details call 01524-770503/32878.

AWARD-winning jazz vocalist Stacy Kent will be in concert at the Lancaster Grand Theatre on Thursday. The concert entitled The Boy Next Door promises to deliver classic music in contemporary style. The evening begins at 7.30pm. For tickets, call 01524-64695.

ENJOY a trip back to the era of swing at a concert by The Moonglow Swingette at the Holehird Cheshire Home, Windermere, tonight (Friday). The concert is being held to raise money for the home and tickets include a hot supper. For details, call 015394-88649.

TEN popstar wannabes compete in a Pop Idol-type competition for a music-recording prize judged by the audience at Chorley Town Hall on Friday. The Chorley Citizen Big Gig takes place at 7.30pm. For details call 01257-241693.

TOP pop sensation Atomic Kitten are appearing at Manchester's MEN Arena on Friday. The concert is sure to include chart-topping hits like Whole Again and Eternal Flame. The concert begins at 7.30pm. For tickets, call 0161-930-8000.

ONE of Britain's foremost folk-rock bands Fairport Convention is appearing at the Charter Theatre, Preston, on Wednesday. Doors open at 7.30pm. For details, call 01772-258858.

LISA Mills has played guitar and sung with some of the biggest names in music including Robert Plant and Jools Holland and she brings her raspy voice to the Platform, Morecambe, on Saturday. Doors open at 8pm. For tickets, call 01524-582803.

THE Around the Country Chamber Music Tour comes to The Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness, on Friday at 8pm. The concert spans 400 years of chamber music from the 15th century compositions of Monteverdi to a brand new work that has been specially commissioned for this tour. For details, call 0114-2814660.

PURESSENCE have been hailed as one of the best bands to emerge from the Manchester scene in recent years and they are appearing at the Citadel Arts Centre, St Helens, on Saturday at 8pm. For tickets, call 01744-735436.

Sedgwick Flutes are giving a concert at Bowness Methodist Church on Saturday at 7.30pm. The concert features local youngsters playing flutes in aid of the church roof appeal. For details, call 015395-60054.

MAGIC...

BLACKPOOL Magicians Convention takes place at Winter Gardens, Blackpool, this weekend (Friday-Sunday). The festival features more than 100 magic-makers from across the world, lectures and an international gala show. For details, call 01253-625252.

MEETINGS...

THE Westmorland Horticultural Society annual general meeting takes place at Heaves Hotel, Levens, on Wednesday. Doors open at 7.30pm.

RAILWAYS...

RAIL enthusiasts should head for East Lancashire Railway, Bolton St. Station, Bury, on Saturday for a Sulzer Diesel Theme Weekend. For details call 0161-764-7790.

SPORT...

AFTER last week's thrashing by league leaders Waterloo, Kendal Rugby Club will be looking for improvement in their National League Division Three North match with Macclesfield on Saturday. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.

WHILE their new floodlights are being fittied, Kendal Town FC have been kicking-off at an earlier time but, with the lighter evenings, they have reverted to a traditional 3pm kick-off for Saturday's home UniBond League First Division match game with Leek Town. In a bid to boost interest from young people, free admission is being offered to under-16s.

ON SUNDAY, fell runners will be heading for Sedbergh and the Cautley Fell Race, part of the Kendal Winter League series. The race starts at noon.

TALKS...

ENJOY a slide and supper evening at YHA Ambleside on Thursday. The talk is entitled Iran - Heart of Half the World and promises to be a scenic journey through the fascinating country of Iran, including the citadel at Bam that was recently destroyed by the earthquake. The evening begins with a meal at 6pm and the talk gets under way at 7.30pm. To book call 015394-32304.

THEATRE...

THE spectacular Chinese State Circus comes to Kendal Leisure Centre on Friday. The show includes a breath-taking array of acrobats, gymnasts and dancers and runs until Sunday, February 22. For performance times call 01539-729511.

BARROW'S leading Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Barrow Savoyards, return to Forum 28 with the classic The Yeomen of the Guard. The show promises great costumes, wonderful sets and great singing and runs from Monday until Saturday, February 28. For details call 01229-820000.

RELIVE some classic rock anthems at Steve Steinman's new musical fantasy Vampires Rock at The Charter Theatre, Preston, on Friday and Saturday. The show features music from some of the world's greatest artists including Queen, Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf and many more. Performances begin at 7.30pm. For details call 01772-258858.

LANCASTER University Theatre Group presents Happy in the Rain, an endearing romantic tale of Jack and Liz - a Yorkshire miner and his wife on holiday in Blackpool. The production incorporates video, music, poetry and art and will be performed at Lazonby Village Hall on Saturday and Shap Memorial Hall on February 28. Both performances start at 7.30pm. For tickets call 01768-898804 or 01931-716447.

OPERA North presents Winterreise, Franz Schubert's opera about a rejected lover who travels to a realm of despair characterised by deserted villages and snow-covered roads at the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, on Friday. The performance begins at 7.30pm. For tickets call 01768-774411.

LIKE a Virgin, an amusing and moving play about two teenagers who are obsessed with Madonna and play truant from school to dream about being their idol, appears at the Stanwix Arts Theatre, Carlisle, on Friday at 8pm. For details, call 01228-534664.

EXPERIENCE the turbulent life of snooker genius Alex Hurricane' Higgins whose love of women, drink, and good times blighted his career. Hurricane is a one-man dramatisation that took last year's Edinburgh Festival by storm and is appearing at The Lowry Centre, Salford Quays, from Monday until February 28. For details, call 0870-787-5780.

THE Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, is hosting a stage adaptation of Great Expectations, one of Charles Dickens' most memorable novels. Great Expectations opens on Wednesday and runs until April 10. For details, call 0161-833-9833.

CONTEMPORARY dance artists Forecast will be performing their new show Ready at Lancaster University's Nuffield Theatre on Tuesday. Ready takes a poignant and humorous look at the various ways we prepare ourselves to face the world each day. The show begins at 8pm. For tickets, call 0800-028-3042.

THE students of Kendal College present the musical extravaganza Little Shop of Horrors at the Brewery Arts Centre on Tuesday. The production runs until Thursday with performances at 7.30pm and 12.30pm on Wednesday. For details call 01539-725133.

HULL Truck Theatre Company presents Black Tie and Tales, an outrageous comic story of a black tie party at an eccentric stately home, written and directed by John Godber, at the Brewery Arts Centre, kendal, tonight and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday). There are performances at 8pm on Friday and 2pm and 8pm on Saturday. For tickets, call 01539-725133.

ENJOY a traditional family panto at St George's Church Hall, Castle Street, Kendal, this weekend (Friday & Saturday). Dick Whittington will be performed by St.George's Church Players with performances at 7.30pm.

WALKS...

LEARN more about the birds of Morecambe Bay on a guided walk organised by the Leighton Moss RSPB Nature Reserve on Sunday. Meet at Teal Bay at 10.30am. For details call 01524-701601.

ENJOY a challenging guided walk in the Forest of Bowland, over moorland not usually open to the public, on Sunday. More details on booking, call 01995-640557.